Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud'homme (born 24 January 1959) is a Belgian retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Currently, he is vice-president and sports director at

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. He was considered one of the world's best and most consistent goalkeepers during his professional career; he was the first winner of the

Yashin Award At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA T ...

as the best goalkeeper at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

. At club level, Preud'homme played for Standard Liège,

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

and Benfica. With Mechelen, he won the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

in 1987, the Cup Winner's Cup and the

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

in 1988 and the Belgian league title in 1989. He also won the Portuguese Cup with Benfica in 1996. He retired as a player in 1999, aged 40. For

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Preud'homme was capped 58 times, from 1979 to 1994. Other than the 1994 World Cup, he also played in the

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

tournament.

Club career

Standard Liège

Preud'homme is a product of Standard Liège's youth system, which he joined at 10 years old in 1969. He was first called up to the first team in 1977 and made his senior debut in August 1977 after early injuries to the main goalkeeper

Christian Piot Christian Piot (born 4 October 1947) is a Belgian retired football goalkeeper who won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 1972 while at Standard Liège. He played 40 times and scored 1 goal for the Belgium national team between 1969 and 1977, starting ...

and his successor Jean-Paul Crucifix. With Standard Liège Preud'homme won the Belgian First Division in 1981–82 and 1982–83. He was also runner-up in the 1981–82

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, losing against F.C. Barcelona.

KV Mechelen

Preud'homme was transferred to

KV Mechelen Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen (), often called KV Mechelen (, KVM) or simply by their former French name Malinois /ˌmalɪˈnwɑː/, is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Mechelen in the Antwerp (pr ...

in 1986. The following seasons would become the most successful for the player (as well for the club), winning the 1986-87 Belgian Cup, the 1987-88 European Cup Winners' Cup, the

1988 European Super Cup The 1988 UEFA Super Cup was played between KV Mechelen and PSV Eindhoven, with Mechelen winning 3–1 on aggregate. Match details First leg Second leg ''KV Mechelen won 3–1 on aggregate.'' See also *1987–88 European Cup *1987–88 ...

and the 1988-89 Belgian First Division. In June 1993, there were negotiations by

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

to sign him, but the transfer never happened.

Benfica

Preud'homme moved to Portuguese club Benfica in 1994, making his debut on 21 August, against

Beira-Mar Sport Clube Beira-Mar (), commonly known as Beira-Mar, is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its Association football, football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal (league), Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth natio ...

. On 18 May 1996, Michel won his first trophy in Portuguese football as Benfica defeated

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

rivals

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

3–1 in the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

final. For his outstanding performances and almost impossible saves, he was nicknamed "Saint Michel" by supporters of Benfica. On 10 August 1999, he played his last match, an off season friendly against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. After his retirement, at age 40, he became Benfica's director of international relations.

International career

Preud'homme made his senior debut on 2 May 1979 in a 0–0 draw with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in a

UEFA Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams ...

qualifying match. He served as third keeper behind

Jean-Marie Pfaff Jean-Marie Pfaff (born 4 December 1953) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and spent most of his professional career with Beveren and Bayern Munich. Pfaff was capped 64 times playing for Belgium, and parti ...

and Theo Custers in the

as Belgium lost in the final against West Germany. Preud'homme represented Belgium in two consecutive FIFA World Cups:

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

– the latter being his last competition at international level, where he was awarded with the

for best goalkeeper, and was included in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, as Belgium reached the round of 16 of the tournament, only to be eliminated by defending champions

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

following a 3–2 defeat. Preud'homme made his final appearance for Belgium on 17 December 1994 in a 4–1 defeat to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in a

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

qualifying match.

Style of play

A world-class, elegant, efficient, and consistent goalkeeper, regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Preud'homme was mainly known for his excellent shot-stopping abilities, quick reflexes, agility, strength, tenacity, handling and his ability to come off his line to collect crosses, as well as his tendency to produce spectacular and decisive saves.

Managerial career

After his professional football career, Michel Preud'homme stayed at Benfica to become technical director. In September 2000, he suggested the club approach

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

to become the head coach.

Standard Liège

Preud'homme has been the head coach of

twice, the first time from December 2000 to May 2002 and the second time from August 2006 to the end of the 2008 season. After leaving his technical director duties at Benfica, he replaced

Tomislav Ivić Tomislav Ivić (; 30 June 1933 – 24 June 2011) was a Croatian professional football player and manager. Often described as a brilliant strategist, Ivić is credited with helping develop the modern style of the game. In April 2007, Italian spor ...

on 20 December 2000. In May 2002, he left his coaching position to become Standard's sporting director. On 30 August 2006, after Dutchman Johan Boskamp was sacked due to poor results, Preud'homme left his sporting director duties and became Standard's manager for the second time in his career. After his return to the club, Standard Liège won in 2008 its first Belgian Championship in 25 years, and it therefore came as a surprise when he was appointed manager of Gent for the 2008–09 season.

Gent

Preud'homme moved to Gent on 27 May 2008. With Gent he finished second in the Jupiler Pro League, this was their highest place ever (together with the 1954–1955 season). He also won the

, it was the third time in the history of the club that they won that trophy.

Twente

On 23 May 2010, it was confirmed that Preud'homme would replace

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...

as the head coach of

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

, despite the interest of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. On 31 July 2010, he won his first trophy in Dutch football as Twente defeated

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

1–0 in the

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

match. In the last league match of the season, Twente lost to Ajax, which meant the Dutch title went to Amsterdam and Twente finished runners-up. On 8 May 2011, Twente defeated Ajax 3–2 after extra time in the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

held at the

De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Al-Shabab Riyadh

On 13 June 2011, FC Twente confirmed Preud'homme's departure to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

n club Al-Shabab Riyadh on its website . By the end of the transfer window, he brought Brazilian central midfielder Fernando Menegazzo and Uzbekistani midfielder Server Djeparov. On 10 September 2011, Al-Shabab won 3–1 at Al-Faisaly in Preud'homme's first

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

game as manager. On 10 March 2012, he succeeded

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

coach Ariel Jacobs on winning the Guy Thys Award, the prize for the coach who most contributed to the image of his profession and football. On 14 April 2012, after a 1–1 draw against Al-Ahli, Al-Shabab clinched the Saudi Professional League title after six years since they had won it for the last time. Shabab finishing the league undefeated, with 19 victories and 7 draws. At the end of the season, he was won the Saudi Arabia Manager of the Year award. On 10 May, Preud'homme was rewarded with a new contract extension, running until 2016. On 18 September 2013, he and Al-Shabab agreed to part ways, allowing him to sign for

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

one day later.

Club Brugge

After Juan Carlos Garrido was fired, Preud'homme was appointed head coach of Club Brugge on 19 September 2013. Six days later, he made his debut in a 1–0 win against

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

. At the end of the season, Preud'homme signed a new contract to remain as Club Brugge manager until 2019. On 11 February 2015, Preud'homme reached his third Belgian Cup Final, after eliminating rivals Cercle Brugge 8–3 on aggregate. On 22 March 2015, he won that final against rivals Anderlecht. It was the first trophy for Club Brugge in eight years. At the end of the season, he was voted Belgian Professional Manager of the Year for the second time. Preud'homme started the new season losing the 2015 Belgian Super Cup to Gent. In the

, Brugge won 0–2 in the quarter-final against

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

. On 3 February 2016, they eliminated Gent on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

to reach the Cup Final for the second year in a row. Brugge lost the match 2–1 to Standard Liège. On 15 May 2016, after finishing first in the regular season, Preud'homme won the Jupiler Pro League with Club Brugge in a 4–0 win over Anderlecht. It took the club 11 years since their last victory in the Belgian competition. On 23 May, he was voted Manager of the Year for the third time, the second consecutive.

Return to Standard Liège

On 23 May 2018, Preud'homme signed with Standard Liège.

Career statistics

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Standard Liège *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

: 1981–82, 1982–83 *

: 1980–81 * Belgian Supercup: 1981, 1983 *

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

runner-up: 1981–82 *

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...

Group Winners:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

KV Mechelen *

: 1988–89 *

: 1986–87 *

: 1987–88 *

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Benfica *

: 1995–96 Belgium *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

runner-up:

* Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980

Manager

Standard Liège *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 2007–08 Gent *

: 2009–10 Twente *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Al-Shabab *

: 2011–12 Club Brugge *

: 2015–16 *

: 2014–15 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Individual

Player * Belgian Golden Shoe: 1987, 1989 * Belgian Goalkeeper of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

nominations:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

* Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1989 * Belgian Fair Play Award: 1989 * FIFA World Cup Yashin Award:

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

* Best European Goalkeeper of the Year: 1994 * IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year: 1994 * Belgian Golden Shoe of the 20th Century (5th): 1995 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

European Keeper of the Century (19th): 2000 *The Best Golden Shoe Team Ever: 2011 *

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

50 Greatest Goalkeepers in Football History (6th): 2013 * DH The Best Standard Liège Team Ever: 2020 * RBFA 125 Years Icons Team: 2020 * Pro League Hall of Fame: 2024 Manager * Belgian Professional Manager of the Year: 2007–08, 2014–15, 2015–16 * Rinus Michels Award: Manager of the Year

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

*: 2012 *Saudi Arabia Manager of the Year: 2012 * Best Football Coach of the Year: 2016 *: 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preudhomme, Michel 1959 births 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) managers Men's association football goalkeepers Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Belgian football managers Belgian expatriate football managers Belgian men's footballers Belgian Pro League players Belgium men's international footballers Club Brugge KV managers Eredivisie managers FC Twente managers K.A.A. Gent managers K.V. Mechelen players Living people Sportspeople from Seraing Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers Standard Liège managers Standard Liège players UEFA Euro 1980 players Footballers from Liège Province Rinus Michels Award winners Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal 20th-century Belgian sportsmen

Club career

Standard Liège

KV Mechelen

Benfica

International career

Style of play

Managerial career

Standard Liège

Gent

Twente

Al-Shabab Riyadh

Club Brugge

Return to Standard Liège

Career statistics

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

Individual

References

Further reading

External links